Menodora
History (Submitted by Sweetness) Menodora: 290 - 311 Menodora was the eldest child of three sisters. Her sisters were known as Metrodora and Nymphadora. All three of them were the daughters of a midwife and rural priestess named Chloé who lived in what is now southern France, during the reign of the Roman Empire. Chloé was a devout follower of Apollo and claimed that he was the father of her three children. When the girls were old enough, their mother taught them the lore of the gods, the medicinal knowledge she claimed was given by Apollo and also told them a legend of mystical islands obscured from the world and populated only by women and the gods. When asked by her daughters if they could ever see this fantastical place, Chloé told them they would go as soon as they were old enough to make the journey. When the local Roman governor heard tale of this Chloé's healing abilities, he made the trek to meet her to see to mending an old war injury. Chloé told him there was little she could do as he was not a true follower of Apollo, claiming she could sense his unworth. Incensed, the governor had Chloé killed and ordered the daughters bound in chains. Menodora: 311 At a public hearing where the three sisters were mocked and accused of practicing dark arts, Menodora defiantly spit in the face of the governor. Flying into a rage, the governor ordered Menodora stripped of her clothes and beaten by four soldiers while the governor waited for her apology. Menodora endured the beating, and when the governor asked her "Where is your god now?" she cried out, "Can you not see I am offering myself as a sacrifice to him?" Angered, the governor had her caged and left in the hot sun for four days before he marched her sisters into the courtyard and were shown their battered sister. Again, the governor asked for an apology, but was denied. He ordered Menodora and her sisters to heal his injury, but again Menodora said she would not do that, as Apollo had spoken to her as she cooked in her cage and had rewarded her commitment to him by sparing her from the sun's rays. Angry, the governor told her that she was delusional as he had men prepared to speak at their trial that they had relations with their mother, implying the sisters were not the children of Apollo, but simply bastard daughters of drunken men. Menodora was not swayed. The sisters were then all stripped and placed within the same cage and left to blister and burn under the summer sun. Metrodora died from exposure after three days and Nymphadora went mad and had to be put down with an iron rod by a guard, but Menodora simply tanned. She was sentenced to another week in the cage, but disappeared that night when two men infiltrated the governor's estate. One man took Menodora from the cage and saw to her health, while the other man smote the governor with a bolt of lightning from his staff. Menodora was dehydrated and too weak to move, but somehow woke the next morning on the shores of Themyscira, in the shadow of the Temple of Apollo. While recovering from her torture, Menodora learned the truth. Her mother was a true Amazonian Priestess who had left the island on a holy mission accompanying Apollo over thirty years prior, but had stayed in man's world after carrying his child to term.Network Files: Menodora 1 Menodora: 311 - 1351 For eight-hundred years, Menodora worked as a devout priestess in the Temple of the Sun on Themyscira. Menodora was called upon by her queen to undertake a sacred rite: Motherhood. Venturing into Man's World, Menodora fulfilled her duty, but her first child was a son and she was required to return him to his father. Though she did as she was commanded, she could not bear to abandon her son and remained nearby, settling in the forests and taking on the life of a hermit dealer. Her powers for healing and worship of the sun became legend. Thirty years later, Menodora was summoned to meet with the local king, King Sapa Inca. Sapa Inca claimed he was the son of Inti, a local god of the sun and felt Menodora must be another child of Inti. Sapa urged her to join his court. Menodora promised to join his court as an adviser and healer if she was allowed to continue her worship of Apollo. King Sapa agreed to this, feeling that Apollo must be another name for Inti. In time, this small kingdom grew into an empire. It was not long into his reign that Sapa Inca began using blood magic and dark rituals to pass his own soul from son to son, gaining a flawed immortality. Though she looked the other way, for a time out of honoring her oath to the king, Menodora realized that it was her duty to end this cycle. Menodora: 1531 - 1541 Making a secret alliance with Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, Menodora brought down the immortal emperor with war brought on by Pizarro's forces and the plagues which Menodora summoned through her father's aid. With Sapa and his equally deranged sons in chains, a trial was held. Sapa promised great wealth to Pizarro and Menodora, but was still sentenced to death. Sapa laughed at this sentence, saying that no mortal could kill him for he was the son of Inti. As Menodora strangled Sapa to death, she tearfully told him the truth: Inti was no sun god, but a mere farmer she had once laid with and given a son to raise. As Sapa collapsed, Menodora cradled the body and wept. After helping her burn her son's remains, Pizarro confessed in private audience with Menodora that he was also immortal. Menodora took this as proof that fate had put she and him on the same path and though she felt little love for him, she gave herself to him and the two continued to fight against the claimants for the throne of Sapa Inca. When Menodora gave Pizarro a daughter it was quite the scandal among his own men, who still felt Menodora was a heretical savage. So consumed with rage, twenty men stormed the house and demand Pizarro give them the savages, Pizarro drew his sword. Menodora was in no condition to fight and fled with her daughter. Without anywhere to go, Menodora returned to Themyscira and asked for forgiveness for having chosen her own son over the Amazonian sisterhood. Maravilla: 1541 - Present Menodora spent two hundred years with her daughter on the Islands of Reform, but soon returned to her duties as a temple priestess until her daughter stole a relic from the temple and fled to Man's World. In order to be given permission to search for her daughter, Menodora took a position at the Themysciran Embassy in Gateway City.Network Files: Menodora 2 Supplemental Reports * (Submitted by Zipper) Diana might have a lasso that compels you to tell the truth, but there is something about Maria's presence that just puts you at ease and you can't help but be honest with yourself. She's a really good listener and always knows just what to say to make you feel better about yourself. * (Submitted by Sweetness) When the Themysciran Embassy first opened, Maria caused quite the stir with Gateway City's more conservative population as she enjoys daily sunbathing in the nude on the roof of the embassy as part of her worship rituals to Apollo. The gawkers don't bother her though and she has not let the controversy deter her at all. Threat Assessment Resources * Amazonian Physiology ** Terraphilic Regeneration: Blessed by Demeter, Menodora's body can quickly heal mild to moderate injuries at an amazing rate. If she is injured to a critical level, she may engage in an Amazonian ritual wherein she can become "one with the Earth" (covering herself in dirt, sand or rocks) and recover her vitality within an hour. * Divine Birthrights: As the daughter of Apollo, Menodora has superhuman abilities. ** Mythic Physicality: Menodora can lift about eight tons of weight with minimal exertion and more than double that with considerable effort. ARGUS cites this as Class V Strength. Menodora also possesses incredible stamina and is able to go without sleep, drink, or water for several weeks if required. Menodora has mythical speed, allowing her to run at highway speeds in short bursts. ** Mythic Insight & Wisdom: Menodora has an awareness of the supernatural. She also possesses great wisdom and intelligence. She also has an instinctive ability to understand, read, write, and speak many Earthly languages which have Latin roots. ** Mythic Healing Touch: When exposed to direct sunlight, Menodora can use her own essence stores to return others to optimal health, curing wounds caused by violence, broken bones, low vitality, and diseases/poisoning. This is a magic effect and it can take an instant for minor healing or days for curing the most complicated injuries or diseases. She cannot cure death. ** Mythic Senses: Menodora has incredibly heightened senses. ** Sun Sorcery: By birthright as the daughter of the God of the Sun, Menodora has an innate ability to cast certain spells and rituals that involve light, heat, or Earth's sun. * Amazonian Arsenal: As an honored member of Themyscira's clergy, Menodora has access to many of the Amazons' weapons and armor, including some relics. ** Amazonium Armor: Made of white Amazonium and both polished and unpolished orichalcum, Menodora's armor is well-suited for combat in all manner of environments. ** Amazonium Bracelets: Worn as a religious token, Menodora's dual bracers can be used in conjunction with her heightened reflexes to easily deflect attacks on her person. When struck together, these gauntlets cause the area to be consumed in a bright, holy light. ** Sunspear: A weapon said to require the blood of a Sun God to use, the Sunspear is a fierce relic which can decimate unholy foes easily. * Belief in a Better Reality: Menodora is steadfast in her ideals and strives to improve the world. * Inspirational Beacon of Hope: Menodora is remarkably inspiring, friendly, and trustworthy. Weaknesses * Vulnerable to Piercing Weapons: Menodora is more vulnerable to piercing weapons, such as arrows and bullets. * Vulnerable to Adamant: Also as the daughter of Apollo, Menodora shares his weakness to weapons made of Adamant. * Vulnerable to Eldritch Darkness: Finally, due to her solar essence attunement, eldritch darkness causes her great pain. Analytics * Physicality: 5 - Master / Remarkable * Occult: 7 - Legendary * Weapons: 5 - Master / Remarkable * Experience: 5 - Master / Remarkable * Ranged: 4 - Expert / Enhanced * Strategy: 5 - Master / Remarkable Trivia and Notes Trivia * Maravilla has a Threat Assessment ranking of 120, marking her as a Severe Threat. Notes * This character is based on Stan Lee's interpretation of Wonder Woman. Her inclusion in Earth-27 is in honor of Stan Lee's passing. * In the comics her name was Maria Mendoza and she was a Peruvian activist protesting against the excavation of an ancient holy site in Cuzco. She gained powers when a rune of light spirits was broken. * Her civilian portrait is a nod to her appearance as Maria and her weapon, shield, glowing hair and face armor are nods to her appearance as Wonder Woman in Just Imagine: Wonder Woman #1. * Being daughter of Apollo is a nod to Maria gaining power from Manco Cápac - sun god of ancient Peru. Links and References * Appearances of Menodora * Character Gallery: Menodora Category:Characters Category:Amazons Category:Seven Wonders Members Category:Hybrid Category:Immortality Category:Class V Enhanced Strength Category:Multilingualism Category:Accelerated Healing Category:Magic Category:Brown Eyes Category:Public Identity Category:Submitted by Sweetness Category:Themysciran Category:Gatewegian Category:Ambassadors Category:Single Characters Category:Healing Category:Enhanced Senses Category:Female Characters Category:Divine Empowerment Category:Lesbian Characters Category:Vulnerability to Adamant Category:Demigods Category:Height 5' 11" Category:Severe Threat Category:27th Reality